I have been going back and forth with the idea of a stuffed animal being sent home with the kids every week, logging its adventures. I know the kids tend to love it. I know the parents sometimes don’t. It can encourage literacy but it can also become a ‘competition. I have been torn on the subject for a while – but the realized, it can become whatever I want it to. It’s my choice, right?

Well, I was in Enchanted Forest, OR with my kids this summer. It is a very low key magical theme park that our family loves… and while we were there, this little guy caught my eye. I cannot wait to introduce him to the kids in September. I am so excited to see what name they give him.

After they get used to him, I want to get a small travelling backpack for him to hide in and a ‘Never-ending Book of Adventures.’ I want to send him home with my preschool kids every week but want to keep it very simple and fun. I want to encourage the kids to keep the journal themselves (we are introducing journaling this year for all ages in the classroom). After a week, they will bring him back and present the latest adventure to the classroom – if they want to. We may even write a story about him if it goes well. We will see where the kids take it.

Have any of you done this in a mixed classroom 3-5? What was your experience?